2 women killed in northeastern Myanmar bomb blasts

Two women were killed and 13 others injured when two bombs exploded at a branch of local Yoma Bank in northeastern Shan state Wednesday, according to police.

The two-story building housing the bank in Lasio town was severely destroyed and a neighboring building was also partially damaged, police officer Kyi Aung said.

The two slain women were bank staff, the officer told Anadolu Agency by phone.

The injured were getting treatment at a hospital.

No individual or group has so far claimed responsibility for the incident.

However, police and military had distributed leaflets a few days earlier, warning the public that members of two ethnic armed groups, Kachin Independent Army and Ta’ang National Liberation Army, were allegedly planning to plant bombs in the town.

Shan state -- the largest of Myanmar’s 15 regions and states -- is also a home to several ethnic rebel groups, including the United Wa State Army, the most powerful rebel group in the region.